On 2nd December 1943 the crew of this 1664 Heavy Conversion Unit aircraft took off from Croft airfield at 14.42hrs to undertake a fighter affiliation exercise with a Hurricane based at Dalton, near Thirsk. Fifteen minutes after taking off and while the Hurricane was making a simulated attack on the Halifax, the Halifax was seen to make a steep turn to practice taking evasive action. During the steep turn control was lost and the starboard wing was seen to drop which continued until the aircraft had rolled onto it's back. Witnesses believed that the pilot then appeared to have partly regained control and the aircraft righted itself but then entered a flat spin, lost height and then dived into the ground and crashed just off Springwell Lane in Northallerton. The crash ruptured a water main and the resulting fire badly damaged a cottage but the occupants, Mrs I Foster and her baby, escaped injury. The aircraft crashed close to a school but this was not damaged by the wreckage or the fire and the children in class at the time were not hurt. The crash investigation believed that the probable cause of the control being lost was down to the common rudder overbalance fault with the Halifax type. Modified tail fins which would cure the problem were not fitted to this aircraft. A portion of the bomb bay doors detached in the air prior to the crash but this was thought not to have been the cause of the accident but a result of the speed of the wind passing across it at a different angle to that which it was designed. My note - yet another seven young lives lost to a common, known about and preventable fault with the aircraft's design and lack of a modification that worked but had not been carried out to this aircraft. The flight engineer and the wireless operator had probably known each other prior to enlisting for RAF service, their homes were only a few miles apart in Cynon Valley area of South Wales. Certainly if they had not known each other before enlisting they must have crewed together at Croft realising they were from the same part of the world. Both were buried by their families locally and probably was a double tragedy for their community.
Pilot - F/O William John Taylor RCAF (J/24309), aged 25, of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (C/F/11).
Flight Engineer - Sgt William John Morgan RAF (1663229), aged 19, of Mountain Ash. Buried of Mountain Ash Cemetery, Glamorgan.
Navigator - F/Sgt James Murray Beatty RCAF (R/152879), aged 20, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (C/F/6).
Air Bomber - F/O Donald Cameron Walker RCAF (J/25527), aged 27, of Sault Ste.Marie, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (C/F/12).
Wireless Operator - Sgt Thomas John Skyrme RAFVR (1400888), aged 21, of Ynysybwl. Buried Ynysybwl Cemetery, Glamorgan.
Air Gunner - Sgt John Owens Winters RAFVR (1796389), aged 19, Of Belfast. Buried Dundonald Cemetery, Belfast.
Air Gunner - F/Sgt John Wallace RCAF (R/176389), aged 22, of Lang, Saskatchewan, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (C/F/9).
A memorial plaque was attached to the entrance to the modern Applegarth Primary School in more recent years with a further painting is displayed inside.
In December 2024 a larger memorial was erected on the Applegarth playing field close to the school.
John Wallace was born on 4th July 1921 in Lang, Saskatchewan, Canada and was a son of Thomas Arthur and Jessie Maud (nee Patience) Wallace. As a young man he worked in farming. He enlisted for RCAF service just after his twenty first birthday on 16th July 1942 and after basic training was awarded his air gunners' flying badge on 18th December 1942. He was then posted to UK in January 1943 and would train at 24 OTU before posting to 1664 HCU on 30th October 1943. Four of his brothers served in the RCAF during WW2; his brother Donald died on 15th June 1944 in the loss of 172 Squadron Wellington HF446.
Donald Walker was born on 6th March 1916 at Windsor, Ontario, Canada and was the son of Robert S and Ethel May (nee Cameron) Walker. Between 1923 and 1930 the family lived in Detroit, USA but returned to Canada in 1930. After leaving school he undertook a number of jobs but with the most time spent working as a pharmacy apprentice in Sault Ste.Marie. He enlisted for RCAF service on 25th November 1941 in North Bay and initially trained as a pilot but then switched / remustered to be a bomb aimer. After training was awarded his air bomber's (air observers') flying badge on 16th April 1943 and also a commission on the same date. He was then posted to the UK and trained at 2 (O)AFU and 24 OTU before posting to 1664 HCU on 30th October 1943.
James Beatty was born on 16th October 1923 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and was the son of Walter Murray and verna Eva (nee Lees) Beatty. He was still at college when he enlisted for RCAF service in Winnipeg on 21st January 1942. After training in Canada he was awarded his air navigator's flying badge on 4th January 1943. On arrival in the UK he would later train at 6 (O)AFU and 24 OTU before posting to 1664 HCU on 30th October 1943.
William Taylor was born on 20th August 1918 at St.Thomas, Ontario, Canada and was the son of Carl and Zelda Cora (nee Clark) Taylor. His father died when he was young and his mother later re-married. After leaving school William worked in various shops rising to a department manager at the local J.H.Gould Ltd by the time he enlisted for RCAF service on 12th December 1941 in London, Ontario. After training in Canada he was awarded his Pilot's Wings on 5th March 1943 and also a commission on the same date. On arrival in the UK soon after he would train at 15 (P)AFU and 24 OTU before posting to 1664 HCU on 16th November 1943. His two brothers served in the Canadian forces during WW2.
John Winters' grave in Belfast. Photograph found elsewhere on the internet.